


Waraizome

by Jason_M_Lee



Series: Nibbles-verse [7]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aunt-Nephew Relationship, Cohabitation, Comfort/Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Light Angst, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Uncle Dante (Devil May Cry), Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 13:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jason_M_Lee/pseuds/Jason_M_Lee
Summary: 108 days leading to a new start between the three of them.Separate re-post.





	Waraizome

**Author's Note:**

> _Devil May Cry_ © Capcom

She was going have to make rearrangements, but that had always been planned.

(She couldn't blame him, what with both of them willing.)

Guess it was a good thing that she had recently turned down that job offer.

(She did blame that infernal green fairy, though.)

If Lady had met that old martial arts master again, he would've chided her for being "too many mind."

Her boot catching on an uplifted piece of the concrete sidewalk and skidding on a patch of ice reminded her of that remark, forcing her to focus a little more on her surroundings and ignoring some of her injuries straight off from a job. A fresh scrape on her knee against a brick wall and also spraining her ankle added insult to her already present wounds. She was glad that the city had finally replaced the street lamps in this part of the neighborhood with fresh bulbs that were brighter, although the spacing between each post still left much to desire for.

Yet her mind and emotions were still a mess, barely registering an almost worried Dante ushering her to his sofa after she entered through the doors of Devil May Cry, Nero promptly running to get the first aid kit and an ice pack. Both were usually used to her barging in by slamming the doors open, instead of quietly limping in.

Water and antiseptic stinging the open cuts had her foggily watching Dante taking care of her wounds, softly explaining to an attentive Nero on the motions and why. Even though both part-devils had demonic healing to handle most of their injuries and Vital Stars, the two adults felt that knowing how to administer first aid was still important to teach to Nero. Something in Lady marveled at how the half-devil hunter had grown, far from the reckless teenager she had first encountered at Temen-ni-gru, now a somewhat more responsible adult. The easiest term that came to her mind was "matured", although he still had that cocky attitude. Except maybe "matured" wasn't right given his continual like of flair for the occasional dramatics - "mellowed out a bit" seemed more apt, as Dante carefully removed her boots and set about wrapping her sprained left ankle with practiced ease. Lady fuzzily noticed how one of his hands rubbed slow circles above the elastic bandage after he was done, as if more than just massaging her muscles.

' _They deserve to know_ ,' her conscience whispered in her mind.

"Lady?" Nero spoke up softly, having plopped himself next to her on the sofa. "Uhm..."

Both adults turned to look at him.

Aware of the attention on him, Nero nearly shrunk into himself, his usual roughness briefly gone. "Uhm... Please don't take this the wrong way, but you smell kinda... funny."

Lady simply stared at the young quarter-devil. Being offended was the last thing on her mind at that unexpected shot.

"In what way?" Dante asked, just as quiet. His nephew eagerly accepted the offered hand, almost squeezing tightly as if to take in the reassurance.

"It's not a 'bad' funny." Nero fidgeted while rubbing the side of his nose. "Like, you still smell the same, but... extra, I think?" He blushed fiercely, ducking his head. "Sorta like the moms we'd sometimes see at the park or run into at the store or on the street."

At her hitched breath, Dante switched to gaze at her solemnly, having not let go of her ankle. Even with the desk lamp and the moon being the primary sources of light in the room, she could see the glimmer of a glow in icy blue eyes behind bangs that hinted at his barely surfacing thoughts as he patiently waited.

In the past, her younger self would have snarked at the thought of putting "patient" and "Dante" together within the same sentence.

_"I won't tell them, given doctor-patient confidentiality," Sláine's gentle voice spoke, barely registered in her mind. His white doctor's coat reflected the brightness of the overhead lights that all but stabbed into her eyes. On her lap, his Maine Coon purred softly, bushy tail twitching as she absentmindedly stroked the feline. "But you know you can't hide it from either of them forever and you know how word spreads through the grapevine. Better directly from you than through rumors."_

A cloud briefly passed over the moon, yet the glow from his eyes remained, still waiting.

"A little over three and a half months," she finally whispered, hunching her shoulders slightly. The feeling of weakness wasn't unfamiliar, hating it while traversing Temen-ni-gru, hating it ever more in the library, hating it even after she _finally pulled the trigger_. Lady disliked showing any form of vulnerability, but this was an entirely different shape, especially when it came to these two. "I even went to Sláine. It's partly why I haven't visited in awhile."

Lady didn't need to look to know that there was a gaping expression on Nero's face.

"...just takes one night, huh." Dante couldn't help but chuckle softly at Nero's nose wrinkling. Even though it was buried emotions coming to the fore, a minor bit of alcohol from his bar had been involved that night.

"When did you know?" She knew that devils had sensitive noses, although their sensitivity varied from individual to individual.

"Not long after you came in." His hand moved from her wrapped ankle and grasped hers, rubbing a thumb over slim fingers bearing scarred knuckles when she didn't resist. He traced a new white line on her index finger, wondering the story behind that one. "Wasn't sure if you were ready or not to spill the beans."

Lady pondered if this was how Eva felt when she found out on expecting the twins, Sparda probably as well. Lady knew she could never fully give up devil hunting - her soul would never allow that - yet she hadn't thought of pausing or easing off temporarily. And then the thought of continuing alone...

"Do you two mind..."

Both stayed silent, watching her. Nero was practically holding his breath.

A spartan apartment that always had that sense of coldness, even during the harshest of summers. Like how other hunters and some agents would often describe her behind her back.

"...if I stayed here..."

Except these two. Never these two.

Dante continued gazing at her, his expression betraying very little of his inner thoughts. Internally, he wondered if this was how his parents felt when they found out they were expecting him and Vergil. From what little he was able to dig up and/or badger from various old timers, he knew his mother was no slouch back in the day, even before meeting his father. Noticing the change in Lady's scent had brought up a small cloud of emotions within him, similar to how he had felt when the orphanage called about Nero. True, neither part-devils had the best track record for luck on a lot of things. Yet in spite of all the bumps and screw ups along the way, Dante felt like he had done a pretty good job with how happy Nero was growing up so far.

Teal-and-maroon eyes met ice blue eyes head on, the fire that he had seen in her from Temen-ni-gru flaring again. "...permanently?"

Nero looked at his uncle almost hopefully.

Hearing Lady say that last part out loud intensified the building cloud into a miniature storm inside Dante's chest. The devil half of him that was extremely protective over Nero had already proverbially included Lady under their wings, and it wasn't going to accept "no". (Not that he was going to argue with it, especially after this revelation.) Without a word, Dante yanked their arms forward, ignoring their squawks of surprise as he spun them, setting himself on the sofa and wrapping his arms around both of them after maneuvering Lady into sitting across his lap and Nero on her. As his nephew started protesting and wriggling about, she stared up at Dante in surprise before sagging weakly against him. Out of relief, exhaustion, or a combination of both, Dante wasn't sure but his chest tightened when she didn't move her head away, allowing him to touch their foreheads together.

One thing was for certain: Dante was going to make damn sure to not let his childhood be repeated. He got this far with Nero, he would definitely continue to do so with Lady.

"We'll figure it out together." Lips brushed her forehead just as the clock struck midnight. "Indy ploys and all."

He smiled at her teary laughter, ignoring the confused look from Nero, and simply tightened his hold around them.

Outside, the city set off fireworks to herald in the new year.

**Author's Note:**

> Re-posting this separately so that it'll be easier on myself to keep track. Day 21 from Smootch-tober 2018, "Midnight Kiss" in "[Bouquet of Calendula](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173560/chapters/39200500)".
> 
> "Waraizome" 笑い初め means "first smile of the year" or "first laughter of the year" in Japanese, a term used when celebrating New Years in Japan. Basically, to greet the new year lightheartedly. [Japan Talk](https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/japanese-new-years) has a section on Japanese New Years.


End file.
